THE HEART NEVER LIES
Chapter One
Rose
The haunting groaning of the ship
filled my ears, the sound of metal twisting beneath me, the death knells of the
Titanic being torn apart. I could hear the agonizing death cries of poor souls
falling into the black, churning abyss of the sea far below me.
Sweat trickled down my neck. I
grabbed at Jack, who was perched next to me on the railing on the stern of this
cursed ship. Stuck in the air so high. Waiting...
"Jack?" I murmured, my
heart thundering like a train in my chest. "Jack, I'm scared." My
hair was plastered to my face, my dress damp. Jack’s arms were around me. I
could feel his body next to mine. He was shaking like a leaf.
"I know, Rose. I'm scared,
too, but we'll survive this. We have to. Trust me." I fixed my gaze on
Jack’s calm, deep blue eyes. He was so caring. I could look into his eyes
forever.
His blond hair was slick with
wetness, his shirt and thin trousers soaked through, his face pinched with
cold. Tears snaked down my face, the cold Atlantic breeze blowing chills
through me. "I trust you," I whispered through numb lips.
I love you, too. You are my
heart’s desire, my mind
echoed. This is not real, stuck on top of this sinking ship, not when I have
just found Jack. I don't want to die. We have to be together. The ship
jolted suddenly. I closed my eyes in terror, then opened them quickly.
I saw Helga. Fabrizio's
girlfriend, I think she was, hanging onto the railing just below me. She looked
at me with eyes wide with terror, her face ghostly white. "Hjelp,"
she mouthed. What could I do? A single tear ran from her eye, she screamed, and
let go, gone in seconds, falling into darkness.
"No," I whimpered.
"No. This can’t be happening." I clung to Jack and cried freely tears
of pain, of misery, of not wanting to ever let go of him.
Jack
I put my arm across my beautiful
Rose's shoulders. She was shivering uncontrollably, and I could not believe
what was happening.
To meet this wonderful, caring
girl on the ship of dreams. “Jack,” she said, looking at me with total love
in her eyes, excitement dancing. "When we dock, I am coming with you. I
trust it." Was it only a couple of hours ago that we had been making
plans for our future, dancing and laughing, loving, ecstatic in the precious
future we had to come?
Now, it was all slipping away.
Death creeping closer, weaving a web over the living, taking them to a cruel,
watery grave. The Titanic was dying and we were still on her. I heard the
crashing of the waves and people screaming and crying.
Rose’s sobs brought me back to
reality. "Jack! Jack!" she cried. "What can we do, Jack? I am so
cold."
I tried to collect my senses.
"Rose, we will make it." She turned her head to look at me, and her
blue-green gaze bored into mine, tear tracks staining her perfect pale skin,
her red hair wet and lying in ringlets.
She smiled briefly and stroked my
face. As she did, we heard a heavy groaning noise and the upturned hull started
to plunge. Deafening shrieks filled the air. "Oh, my God! This is
it!"
I shook Rose’s shoulder. I
shouted over the din of ripping metal. "Rose, this is it. Listen! When I
say now, take a deep breath. Kick when we go under and hold my hand or you’ll
be sucked down. Do you hear me?"
"Yes!" she yelled.
"I trust you, always." We wrapped our hands tightly together. The
pressure reassured me.
Please, God, let us survive
this, I prayed. Water
burst up and soaked us. The Titanic entered the water with the velocity of a
bullet. I gripped the railing tightly.
Images of me dancing with Rose,
kissing her, the first time I saw her face; I knew I loved her from the start.
Pictures playing across my mind.
"I will never let go!"
Rose screamed.
As we sank into the dark, cold
void of the Atlantic Ocean, I heard my voice cry audibly, "Now!"
Rose's hand was still in mine as
we plunged into the depths of hell.